Travel to HK - 7 February to 10 February 2025

Lexuan fell sick on Saturday (1 February), followed by me on Monday night. She was having fever, sore throat and rashes which PD diagnosed as scarlet fever. As for me, I had fever, sore throat and headache. I was so sick that I lost 1kg I gained over the Chinese New Year.  Both of us were feeling much better on Thursday in which she went back to school and I worked from home. Lexuan got a lot of homework after missing school for 3 days. Can’t imagine how much homework we will get on Tuesday. 

It got to be the super last minute packing trip as we only started packing when we went back Senja at around 8pm+. Luckily, it was really a short trip so we managed to pack by 10pm. I must be so sick that I actually forgot to take out the leftover HKD and octopus card from my previous trips. 

We slept around 11pm and I couldn’t really sleep well. Since Monday, I wasn’t been able to sleep well. Hope I get to sleep more in HK. 

7 February 2025 

Lexuan woke me up at 3am and I didn’t really manage to fall asleep again. Got up at 4.15am to get ready. 

Then we left house around 5am. It was quite easy to get cab. It costs SGD38 for comfort ride. Airport is relatively quiet as I guess it is non peak for travel since it is school time.

We quickly checked in and deposited our luggage then we went to Burger King for breakfast since there wasn’t anything else to eat. I still don’t have much appetite so I ate a bit of Jianhui’s burger. 

Then we walked to Gate 18 which is right at the end. We didnt have to wait long and it’s time to board the plane. Our flight is at 8am. And we all fell asleep while taking off for about 40mins? I guess we all were just too tired. 

They started serving us breakfast at 9am. It’s congee omelette. The fish and prawn congee is not bad and just nice for me who still have a little difficulty in swallowing due to the sore throat. Meiji yoghurt is good too. 

Then I started to watch running man which is very funny as usual. Time seems to pass so fast and we were going to touch down at 11.30am. 

We landed at 12pm. There is a queue at customs but I would say it is relatively fast. Then we got stuck at the counter! Apparently, there is some problem with Jianhui’s passport. Then he was being asked to wait aside. He told me the person scanned his passport inside the room and then he could leave. 

My parents collected our luggage first so we could exit the immigration area. We were hungry so we decided to eat lunch at the airport. We saw Ho Hung Kee and decided to try it. We ordered Wanton Mee, beef soup kway teow (when we wanted stir fried beef hor fun) and 芝麻糊. It costs us SGD100.

We bought our octopus cards at the airport. It costs HKD200 each, HKD50 as deposit, HKD150 as value. The staff told us that we need to use within 3 years, if not need to pay a small fee to activate it to use again. 

Then we took cab and 5 of us can squeeze inside it. Quite spacious. It is about 32km to our hotel, New World Millennium Hotel. We managed to reach hotel just before 3pm. 

Checking in a breeze though I don’t understand why they need HKD3,000 as deposit. We have 2 separate rooms and both rooms are about the same except our bathroom is bigger. Overall, the room is cosy. They gave us 2 single beds so I don’t know how am I going to squeeze with Lexuan. 

After showering and resting a while, Jianhui and I went to collect race pack while Lexuan stayed in my parents’ room. We took a cab to Kai Tak sports arena. It was supposed to be a 5 mins ride become a 15 mins ride. Then we had to walk one big round to the race expo. It’s a good thing Lexuan didn’t come with us. And the good thing is, there isn’t any queue. We collected our race pack very quickly. The volunteer nearly forgot to give me my race shirt. Luckily I saw Jianhui‘s shirt and asked him about my shirt as I thought this race doesn’t have race shirt.

Then we walked around the expo but there isn’t anything to buy. I realized I am so not prepared as I forgot to bring my gloves and tights. Gosh. 

Then we quickly left to take MTR! It’s a few stops to Tsim Sha Tsui station. We then walked to our hotel. 

We went dinner nearby. We chose Yuen Kee. The roast meat is soft and good. We also ordered fried rice which is normal only. Lexuan had the bread with condensed milk. And then Guanling came to say Hi. Was so surprised to see her! She came here with her husband for standard chartered Hong Kong marathon too! 

After dinner, we went 7-11 and circle K to buy snacks. And then we went back to our room to rest. 

It had been a long day. 

We had a quick party then we went to sleep. 

I couldn’t really sleep as I was sleeping in the middle with a hole. So I was trying to find a comfortable position throughout the night. Plus my throat feels very dry. 

8 February 2025 

We woke up around 7.30am. My parents went out for breakfast without us first. So we took our time to get ready while waiting for lexuan to wake up.

Then we went for breakfast around 9am+. We went to last night’s same restaurant. We ordered club sandwich which was full of ingredients and so yummy. Jianhui ordered beef soup noodles which was good too. We also ate bo luo bao.

We walked around a bit before going back hotel. It’s cold in the morning about 10 degrees Celsius which feels super cold to me. Even Lexuan is feeling cold too. 

Lexuan enjoys staying at gong gong and popo’s room so we got a little peace too. We can also rest a bit. 

Then about 12.30pm, we went out for lunch and walk. We took MTR to Mong Kok. We walked around and came access a restaurant for lunch. We ordered half roasted goose (which is quite big too), diced beef (which is normal only) and beef hor fun. My dad ordered a bottle of blue girl beer which we shared among 3 of us. 

It is definitely Lexuan’s lucky day as she caught 2 mofusand from the claw machines. We went to the nearby “night market” to take a look. 

As usual, we don’t have to walk for long before Lexuan wanted to go back. So we made our way back. Initially we wanted to try taking the bus back but we didn’t see the bus. So we decided to take MTR back. 

While walking back, Lexuan spotted a playground and so we stayed there for a while before going back hotel to rest. Lexuan has been enjoying herself in my parents’ room that she has been spending most of her time there. 

For dinner, we went to eat wantons with noodles. Lexuan likes the wantons too! They allow us to octopus card to make payment. I passed her Lexuan’s card instead of my card and the payment went through even though the card only has HKD50 (the meal is HKD88). 

We walked a while before we went back to the hotel. My dad bought siew mai for Lexuan. She likes the siew mai. 

I was shocked to know that the cut off time for full marathon is 6hrs. I finished SCSM within 6hrs last year but I wasn’t sick. There is a couple of CP and I read online that if you missed the cut off time, you would be asked to go on the bus. It is very disappointing to me as this would be my first marathon that I DNF if I couldn’t meet the cut off time. I could be slow but I am confident to finish it in my own pace. Oh well, we shall see how it goes tomorrow. 

We slept around 9am. As usual, I couldn’t sleep well but at least it is much better than previous night. 

9 February 2025 

It’s race day! Feeling so tired when i woke up. At least, the race’s start time is 6.50am and not some inhuman time. We had a little bit of coffee plus bo luo bao (we bought yesterday). 

Temperature feels cold probably about 14? Lucky I still remember to bring my arm sleeves and under armour yellow jacket. We also brought poncho for warm in case we need it. Lucky it is quite a convenient walk to the starting point. When we came out of the exit, just nice it is near the race starting point. Good thing that we didn’t have bag to deposit. 

The race started at 6.50am sharp. We started it slow and steady. We went for toilet around 2km mark along the way at McDonald. There’s a couple of up and down slope but overall it is manageable. Our aim is to at least complete half marathon. So we were quite focused on running and checking the timing. The scenery along the way is not bad. It is very windy though especially when you are on the bridge, feeling so exposed. Super regret not applying lip balm and moisturiser. Our only good time is running inside the tunnel. Along the route, they only serve us water and 100+. I am feeling so hungry. 

We were happy when we crossed the CP at 18km, and we ran towards 21.1km. We continued our run. The next CP is at 28km and we made it too. By now, Jianhui’s leg is in pain so we slowed down. 

Sad to say, we didn’t make it in time for the next CP at 32km (4hrs 35mjns before 11.25am). So we had to board the bus. Omg! It’s my first full marathon that I didn’t get to finish it. I am very very sad as I know that I would definitely be able to complete it. 

We boarded the double decker bus and once on it, I fell asleep. I am just too tired. They driving us to the finishing line. 

We were given medal as token of our effort. We took some photos at the finishing line then we went to take MTR. It’s quite convenient to travel around in Hong Kong using MTR I realize. 

We were so hungry and so we went McDonald’s for lunch. The fillet o level is so soft and yummy! Seems like my appetite is coming back. Jianhui ordered red bean+rice cake pie and it’s not bad. Then we went back to room to shower and rest. 

It’s so nice to shower and finally rest on the bed. Jianhui and I took nap while Lexuan was hanging at Gong gong’s room. We then went for a walk at 4.30pm.

We went to look for Bruce Lee’s statue, and managed to see Anita Mui’s one too. We bought ice cream before we walked to our dinner place. 

Lexuan played a while at the playground. We having dim sum at Kungfu Deluxe Dim Sjm. We were shocked to see the har gao and Siew Mai being so big. Even the 流沙包 is so big. We were totally too full. Damage is SGD100. The food is so-so.

We walked around the shopping mall at MTR but realized there isn’t much to see or shop. Then we went to Grill & Beer to chill out. We ordered 1 for 1 Blue girl - one pint. We also ordered grilled sotong which is nice.

We also ordered sashimi which is not bad. It’s a relaxing night. 

Then we went back room to relax. 

10 February 2025 

I had a better sleep compared to the past few nights. We woke up around 7.40am. We quickly showered to go for breakfast with my parents. 

We went to our favorite same restaurant, Yuen Kee. I ate my favourite club sandwich. We ordered tea but they served us coffee.

Their coffee is meh. 

We bought Siew Mai from another stall and it’s not nice. Lexuan didn’t like it. Luckily we also bought egg tarts which is nice. 

We packed the luggage then we were ready to check out. We took the cab at around 11am to the airport. So fast we are heading home! 

Checking in is a breeze. We quickly went 7-11 to buy Lexuan’s ice cream. She also showed me the Sanrio x mofusand blind box. I bought 2 and I got Melody + pompompurin. I decided to buy the balance 4 and so happy I did it coz I got all 6 designs! 

Then we went to departure hall. I was so tempted to go Disneyland shop to do some last minute shopping but decided to clear customs first in case of the queue. Luckily,

Clearing customs is a breeze too. 

We bought 老婆饼 from Kee Wah. Then we wanted to find a restaurant. We decided to eat burger at Beef & Liberty. Jianhui only ordered a burger but it took 25mins. It was already our boarding time 1.35pm but the burger still not ready. Ended up we had to takeaway the burger. Good thing that the gate isn’t too far so we didn’t have to run. 

My parents were waiting there for us. Then we all boarded the plane for our flight at 2.15pm. 

We tried our burger at 3pm and it isn’t nice. Haha. Flight food is chicken with rice which is not really nice. The good thing is the haagen daz ice cream. I watched running man as usual but this episode wasn’t that funny. 

We forgot to do the arrival card, so I quickly did it for all of us. We touched down at 6pm.

Then, Lexuan suddenly vomitted the plane, all over the floor. It caught us by surprise. Luckily I still got some plastic bags in my bag. One kind passenger also donated one plastic bag to us. 

When we touched down, we quickly went to toilet to wash up. My dad left his bag in the plane and went back to take. Somehow, he didn’t see mum, so initially we thought he is still stuck in the plane especially when I couldn’t call through to him. Luckily, he on his phone and told us he is at the main hall now. 

We then cleared customs and quickly took the cab home. Lexuan vomitted 2 times in the cab. So glad that we made it home eventually. 

After settling down, we went to Bukit Panjang to see Dr Tan. Lexuan vomitted again on our way there. Our queue number is 42 and the current queue number is 34. It is about 8pm. Didn’t know there would be so many patients at this time. Lexuan is feeling unwell and had no patience to wait. She kept on telling me she wanted to go home. 

At around 9.15, it was finally our turn. I am amazing by Dr Tan’s energy. It was already so late and we were probably his 2nd last patient and he is still so patient with us. Finally we could go home. 

We were so tired and showered. Lexuan is a good girl I must say. She slept at 11pm and suddenly woke up, vomitting on the bed. Her bed is totally dirty. Jianhui helped to clean up and covered with clean bedsheets. 

Other than calling for me a few times, she slept relatively well and at least she didn’t vomit anymore. 

Other than Lexuan falling sick at the last minute, it was a good trip. It is Jianhui and Lexuan’s first time to Hong Kong. I am glad that they both enjoyed the trip and the food. Especially Jianhui who enjoyed the food a lot. Haha. And my parents spent a good time with Lexuan and I am happy to see her enjoying her time with gong gong and popo too.